Umgeni Water is a public entity, established in 1974 to provide bulk potable water services to improve the quality of life and enhance sustainable economic
development.
The primary activity of Umgeni Water, as pronounced in Section 29 of the Water Services Act, is to provide water services to other water services institutions in its service area.In addition, Section 30 of the Water Services Act enables Umgeni Water to undertake other activities, provided these do not impact negatively on the organisation's ability to perform its primary function.
These include:

 Providing management services, training and other support services to other water services institutions, in order to promote co-operation in the provision of water services

 Supplying untreated or non-potable water to endusers who do not use the water for household purposes

 Providing catchment management services to or on behalf of the responsible authority

 With the approval of the Water Services Authority having jurisdiction in the area, supplying water directly for industrial use, accepting industrial effluent and acting as a Water Services Provider to consumers

 Providing water services in joint venture with Water Services Authorities, and

 Performing water conservation functions

Supply Area and Customers
Umgeni Water's operational area is bounded by the uThukela River in the North, the Mtamvuna River in the South, the Indian Ocean in the East and Drakensberg Mountains in the West and covers a total of 21 155 square kilometres. Umgeni Water has its head office in Pietermaritzburg and is supported by Regional Offices in its supply area. The organisation derives its revenue from the sale of bulk potable water to its six customers to which a total of 440 million cubic metres of potable water per annum (1 191 Ml/d) are supplied, namely: eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality; iLembe District Municipality; Ugu District Municipality; Harry Gwala District Municipality; uMgungundlovu District Municipality; Msunduzi Local Municipality Umgeni Water's infrastructure assets in support of its potable water business comprise:

Approximately 746 kilometres of pipelines and 66 kilometres of tunnels,

Fourteen impoundments, of which six are managed on behalf of the Department of Water and Sanitation and two on behalf of Ugu District Municipality,

Thirteen water treatment works, of which two are managed on behalf of Ugu District Municipality, and

 An additional fourteen small water treatment works and ten borehole schemes are managed on behalf of the iLembe District Municipality.

The organisation also treats bulk wastewater totalling 31.8 million cubic metres per annum (87 Ml/d) and in support of this operates five wastewater treatment works.

Expanded Supply Area and Customers
The institutional re-alignment strategy of the Department of Water and Sanitation has translated into the proposed extension of Umgeni Water's service area,
specifically:

 Expansion into the North of KwaZulu-Natal to include the district municipalities of uThukela, Umzinyathi, Amajuba and Newcastle Local Municipality.

 Expansion into the Eastern Cape to include the Alfred Nzo District Municipality and the Ngquza Hill Local Municipality, within the OR Tambo District Municipality.

The primary function of the proposed Umgeni Regional Water Utility (URWU) will be to plan, construct, operate and maintain regional bulk infrastructure. The URWU will take on more responsibility for regional water resources infrastructure to achieve greater integration with bulk systems. In addition, the URWU will provide support functions to municipalities as a secondary activity. With the proposed change, the operational area will increase to 70 701km2 with population of approximately nine million people and households will increase from 1.64 million to 2.28 million.

In respect of the expansion, Umgeni Water has finalised its due diligence exercise and in the coming period will develop and implement plans for the provision of sustainable regional water services to the new customer areas.

In the midst of impending changes, Umgeni Water commemorated its 40th anniversary in the financial year 2014 - 2015. Activities in this regard included the launch of a book on 40 years of Umgeni Water; a Dam Safety Community Event; VIP banquet for stakeholders, an Umgeni Water-Stakeholders Golf Day and Water Resources and Innovation Conference.

Another significant event occurred in 2014 - 2015: the onset of a drought as a consequence of the El Nino effect. At least two parts of the Umgeni Water operational area have been affected by the drought. They are the north of eThekwini and parts of the iLembe District, and the Middle South Coast. At the time of preparation of this report the source of supply to the north of eThekwini and iLembe District - Hazelmere Dam - was at a critically low level. This has resulted in a 30% curtailment in the production of potable water and the imposition of water restrictions and rationing by the affected Water Services Providers.

In an endeavour to mitigate the impact of water shortages, Umgeni Water constructed and financed, at a cost of R38 million, an emergency water scheme, comprising a pipeline and pump station, that has begun transferring water from the uThongathi River to Hazelmere Dam.

Full Name of Company: Umgeni Water
Nature of Business: Water management and the largest bulk water supplier
Date Established: 1974
Ownership: State-owned business
Customer Base: eThekwini Metropolitan
Municipality, iLembe, Harry Gwala, uMgungundlovu and Ugu District Municipalities, and the Msunduzi Local Municipality

VISION
To be the leading water utility that enhances value in the provision of bulk water and sanitation services

Umgeni Water News

Umgeni Water Reviewed Interim Financial Results as at 31 December 2014

2015-05-06

Umgeni Water, a state-owned entity, is one of Africa's most successful organisations involved in water management, and is the largest supplier of bulk potable water in the Province of KwaZulu-Natal,... continue reading ›

Umgeni Water

2012-08-07

Spring Grove Dam

2011-05-02

South Africa is to spend more than R2-billion on the construction of the massive Spring Grove Dam, which is expected to provide water to more than two-million people in KwaZulu-Natal when it is comple... continue reading ›

Umgeni Water Season Greetings

2012-12-11

The Board, Executive Management and staff of Umgeni Water, wish everyone a Merry Christmas, joyous festive season and a prosperous New Year.
Click on below link to view: continue reading ›